Chelsea Handler Netflix

Which Network Was Smart Enough To Finally Give Chelsea Handler Her Own Show?

Comedian Chelsea Handler is rumored to be on the verge of breaking serious new ground in television.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Handler has inked a deal with online streaming juggernaut Netflix that will include a stand-up special and “docu-comedy” specials (whatever the hell those are).

And, yes: Though only speculation at this point, Ms. Handler may bring Netflix its first-ever talk show, because God knows we need more of those.

“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested. I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch so I approached Netflix to make sure they were as cool as I thought they were, and when I confirmed my suspicions, like with any other future lover, I made my move,” said Handler in a statement announcing the news Thursday, adding: “I’m more excited than I’ve been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I’ve sat down with in ages. No offense to the Shahs of Sunset.”

It’s nice to see that even in an environment as mundane as a press conference, Chelsea’s evergreen brand of humor hasn’t aged a bit.

In all seriousness, this has the potential to significantly alter the television landscape, more so than services like Hulu, Amazon Prime and Netflix already have.

For instance, will it be live (the details are still in the works)? That would be huge, as all previous “straight to Netflix” programs are produced in full and then released simultaneously. A live talk show would not only mark a significant departure from their current strategy of catering to binge-watchers, it could present a technical problem as well: If Handler’s following is as big as they claim, do they have the bandwidth to support that many eyeballs at once?

Of course, it’s also possible that Handler’s move away from mainstream media is one of necessity, not choice. Online-only programming is still such a nascent technology that it’s hard to imagine anyone volunteering to go that route over the higher prestige of television, particularly when they already have a foothold there. Then again, maybe Chelsea knows something we don’t. At this point, for instance, Jimmy Kimmel’s show may as well be online-only, for as YouTube-friendly as it is.

The entertainment world is changing, and Chelsea Handler has kept many, many people in stitches for a long time (both of her books are very funny, if not repetitive). Are Handler and Netflix a match made in heaven? We’ll have to find out.